


Silent Night

by RensKnight18



Category: Marriage Story (2019), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Christmas, Christmas Angst, Eavesdropping, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fighting, Misunderstandings, Modern Era, Rey cares maybe too much, Reylo - Freeform, Things aren't always as they seem, christmas cheer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21715585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensKnight18/pseuds/RensKnight18
Summary: It’s the most wonderful time of the year.Or, is it?*A Reylo/Marriage Story mash-up.---Please note: The entire MS fight scene dialogue is included here. It's long and epic and if I've messed up any lines I apologise, but I couldn't find a script to go off. It's a lot to take in, but I hope it has the desired effect x
Relationships: Charlie/Nicole (Marriage Story), Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Silent Night

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And to Rey, it truly is.

Nothing warms her heart quite like Christmas does. The tinsel, the lights, the presents and even the ho-ho-ho’s – she loves it all.

Her friends say she takes it too seriously and as she scans her apartment with decorations covering almost every surface, maybe they’re right. But life is often so boring and monotonous, why _not_ be cheery at least once a year?

Christmas apron tightly secured around her waist, it’s time to get her bake on. It’s early evening in LA and the sun is still up and she has everything she needs. That Christmas feeling, baking and most of all – peace and quiet.

Lowering the shortbread tray into the oven she closes the door and sets the timer. As she tries to decide on what to cook next, Nicole passes by the landing window and offers her a wave.

Rey always liked Nicole. And Ben. Their son Henry had been a regular visitor to her apartment whenever they needed a babysitter, and she really didn’t mind at all – he was a good kid - but those days are long gone now.

Life had been painful for both Nicole _and_ Ben recently, with the two of them engaged in a bitter divorce. She’d been witness to many an argument, but they always remained mostly civil. Rey wasn’t particularly close to either of them, but her heart broke every time they fought.

No matter _how calm_ it sounded, she could always sense the pain and heartache.

And for some reason, when they fought, she’d usually find herself siding with Ben. It’s not that she’s taking sides exactly, it’s just that Ben was always left there alone now Nicole had gained majority custody of Henry. And her heart broke for _anyone_ who was alone. For _anyone_ in pain.

It’s just the way she’s always been. She hated hearing the arguments from next door and although she tried to block them out each and every time, it was hard when the adjoining walls were _so damn thin_.

Although things had been a lot quieter lately, now the divorce had been finalised and Ben seemed…happier.

They’d often cross paths in the hallway of their shared apartment building. They’d say their hello’s and often even chat about life, but apart from that he didn’t say much to anyone really. He mostly kept to himself.

But she saw the way he was with his son. Whenever Henry was visiting you could _see_ the way his eyes lit up around him. It was clear how much he loved him.

Rey quickly decides that whatever Nicole is doing here today, it’s frankly _none of her damn business_. She sets her mind to her Christmas baking instead.

Shortbread baking underway, it’s time to move on to the mini Christmas puddings. They’re her absolute favourite, and she’d be lying if she said they weren’t Ben and Henry’s favourites too.

One thing Rey does know – Henry is spending Christmas with Ben this year and he’s been looking forward to it more than anything. He’d told her as much in their brief chats. So baking extra Christmas puddings is definitely on her to-do list.

If it’s the only bit of Christmas cheer they get this year, then it’ll be totally worth it.

~~~  
  


Barely two minutes passes before raised voices can be heard from Ben’s apartment next door.

She’s not going to listen though - there’s baking to do. Mind you, as much as she tries _not_ to listen - she can still hear every word.

The kitchen backs on to their loungeroom wall so it’s unfortunately unavoidable. She could move to another room in case it gets heated, but she already has plans and she really doesn’t feel like changing them.

It’s probably a mere formality, maybe some papers she needs him to sign, then she’ll be off.

Rey hopes so anyway.

‘Let’s, let’s…my work is _here now_. My _family_ is _here_ ’

‘And I agreed to put Henry in school here because your show went to series. I did that _knowing_ that when you were done shooting, he would come back to New York’

‘Honey, we never said that. That may have been your assumption, but we never expressly said that’

‘We _did say it’_

Maybe she should put some Christmas music on? Blare a bit of cheer their way?

‘ _When_ did we say it?’

‘I don’t know when we said it, but we said it. We said it that time on the phone’

‘Honey, lemme finish. Sorry, I keep saying that’

Rey always wondered why Nicole kept calling him honey, even after they were divorced? That’s kind of a weird thing to do, but maybe it’s just a hard habit to break?

‘I though that if…Henry was happy here, and my show continued, that we might do LA for a while’

‘I was not privy to that thought process’

It may be through the wall, but Rey can already sense Ben’s losing patience. Which surprises her. He usually seems so…placid. Timid almost. He seems sweet, and gentle and caring. He never raises his voice around her, or Henry for that matter.

‘Ugh. The only reason we didn’t live here is because you can’t imagine desires other than your own. Unless they’re forced on you’

‘Ok. You wish you hadn’t married me, you wish you had a different life, but this is what happened’

‘So what do we do?’

‘I dunno’

There’s a pause – a brief moment of quiet – before it starts up again.

‘Nora says there’s no coming back from this’

‘ _Fuck Nora_! Fuckin’ Nora, telling me I always lived in LA, _even though_ I never lived in LA. How could you have her say those things about me?’

‘Jay said them about me too. You shouldn’t have fired Bert’

‘I needed my own asshole’

‘Let’s just both agree both of our lawyers said shitty stuff about both of us’

‘Nora was worse’

‘Jay called me an alcoholic’

‘You pulled the rug out from under me and you’re putting me through hell’

‘You put _me_ through hell during our marriage’

‘ _Ohh._ Is _that what_ that was? _Hell_?’

‘And now you’re gonna put Henry through this horrible thing so you can yet again get what you want’

‘It’s not what I want. I mean, it’s what I want but it’s what was… _was_ …what’s best for him’

‘Oh _well_ , I was wondering when you’d get around to Henry and what _he_ actually wants’

‘ _Fuck off!_ ’

‘ _Now you fuck off!_ If you listen to your son, or anyone, then he'd tell you that he’d rather live _here_ ’

This is usually the point Rey puts her headphones on and tunes out altogether, but she can’t this time. This fight already sounds way worse than the others and it’s like a car crash or a train wreck or something – she doesn’t _want to hear it_ , doesn’t even want to _know about it_ – yet she can’t pull herself away.

‘Stop putting your feelings about me onto Henry’

‘He tells me he likes it better here’

‘He tells you because he knows it’s what you _wanna hear_ ’

‘He tells me _you’re on the phone_ all the time and you don’t even _play with him_ ’

‘Because _I’m going through a divorce in LA_ and _trying_ to direct a play in New York! Which _closed_ because I wasn’t there. It was a huge opportunity’

'You're fighting for something _you don't even want_ '

Rey feels for Ben. She knows she shouldn’t take sides, but she has. She did a long time ago.

Maybe it’s because she sees Ben with Henry, they’re around a lot. Maybe it’s because Henry seems happier and more settled with his Dad, she’s not sure.

Maybe it’s because he’s so damn good-looking and she hopes one day maybe they’ll end up together??

Whatever the reason, she feels for him. More than Nicole. Selfish maybe, but it’s true.

And to use the fact he doesn’t play with his son against him isn’t fair – Henry loves his Dad. Although she’s sure he loves his Mom too.

Why does life have to be so messy? Why can’t everyone just get along??

‘You’re being _so much_ like your father’

Rey knows this is where it’s about to turn. Just the mention of Ben’s father gets him riled up, she’s heard it time and time again. Why Nicole would use this now is beyond her. What’s it going to achieve exactly?

She braces herself - physically against the adjoining wall she’s now pinned to and mentally because it’s about to get really ugly.

‘ _Do not compare me to my father_ ’

‘I didn’t compare you to him. I said you were _acting_ like him’

‘You’re exactly like your mother. _Everything you’re complaining about her_ , you’re doing. You’re suffocating Henry’

‘First of all, I, I love my mother. She was a _wonderful mother_ ’

‘Just repeating what you told me’

‘Secondly, _how dare you_ compare _my mothering_ to my _mother!_ ’

They’re both as bad as each other, egging the other on. This isn’t going to solve anything.

‘I may be like my _father_ , but I _am not_ like my mother’

‘You _ARE_. And you’re like my father. You’re _also_ like _my_ mother. You’re _all the bad things_ about _all of these people_. But mostly your mother. When we would lie in bed together sometimes I would look at you and see her and just feel _so gross_ ’

Rey’s mouth drops and her hand clasps over her face. She’s truly horrified. That’s an awful thing to say. _Truly awful_. She can’t believe she just heard that with her own two ears.

‘I felt repulsed when you touched me’

Rey’s stomach churns at how personal this is getting. Her foster mother always taught her to argue a point, but to _never_ get personal. It’s something that stuck with her like glue and something she’d always carried with her.

She wishes Ben and Nicole could just stop - _right now_ \- and start this over again. Forget the insults, and just argue the point. But she can see that’s not going to happen.

‘ _You’re a slob_ ’ Ben fires back. ‘I made all the beds, closed all the cabinets’

She hears cupboard doors slamming now, as if to accentuate the point he’s trying to make.

‘Picked up after you like an infant’

‘The thought of _having sex with you_ makes me wanna _peel my skin off_ ’

Ouch.

‘You’ll never be happy. In LA _or anywhere_. You think you found some better opposite guy than me and in a few years...you’ll rebel against _him_. Because you need to have _your voice_. But you don’t _want a voice_ , you just wanna _fucking complain_ about _not having a voice!_ ’

‘I think about being married to you and that woman _is a stranger to me_. I mean, we had a child's marriage’

‘You’ve regressed’

‘People used to tell me that you were too selfish to be a great artist, and I used to _defend you_. They were absolutely right’

‘ _All_ your best acting is behind you, you’re back to _being a hack_ ’

‘You _gaslighted me_! You’re a _fucking villain!_ ’

‘ _Oh_ , you want to present yourself as a victim because it’s a good legal strategy? _Fine_. But you and I both know _you chose this life_. You wanted it, until you _didn’t._ You used me so you could get out of LA’

‘I didn’t use you’

‘ _You did!_ And then you _blamed me for it!_ ’

The tears are falling now. Rey has no idea if they’re falling next door, she can’t really tell, but her own eyes are full.

How can people say such horrible things to someone they claim to love?  
Haven’t they both been through enough already?  
Can’t they just let it go?  
  
They’re already officially divorced, so she honestly doesn’t know what’s left to fight about.

A part of her wants to rush over and stop them. Stop them from saying anything further they’ll regret – stop them from causing anymore pain, but she can’t. It’s not her place.

Fuck, she _shouldn’t even be listening_ , but it’s hard not to. Her heart breaks for them. _Both of them_.

But as much as she’s hating this and wanting to get on with her happy baking, it shows no signs of slowing. In fact, it’s about to escalate further.

‘You _always_ made me aware of what I was doing wrong. How I was falling short. _Life with you was joyless!_ ’

Ben sounds like he’s in so much pain. It’s as if she can _feel it_ seep through the walls.

‘ _What?_ So then you had to go and _fuck someone else?_?’

Wait. Ben cheated? What is happening right now??

It's unimaginable that he’d _do that_. Not to his wife. Not to his son. Nicole must be wrong.

‘ _You shouldn’t be upset that I fucked her!_ You should be upset… _that I had a laugh with her!_ ’

Shit. It _is_ true. How _could he_?!

‘Do you love her??’

‘ _Nooo!_ But she didn’t _hate me_. You _hated_ me!’

‘ _You. hated. me_. You fucked somebody we worked with!’

‘ _You stopped having sex with me in the last year! I never cheated on you!_ ’

‘That _was_ cheating on me!’

‘But there’s so much _I could’ve done!_ I was a director in my 20’s, who came from nothing and was suddenly on the cover of _fucking Time Out New York_! I was _hot shit_ and I wanted to _fuck everybody_ , and I _didn’t_. I _loved you_ and I didn’t wanna _lose you_ ’

Is that…meant to make her feel better?! Rey can’t imagine it would.

Ben sounds exasperated now, but Rey isn’t sure why he’s trying to defend cheating. That’s indefensible to her. Sure, she doesn’t know the whole backstory and maybe there’s more to it? But maybe there’s not?

Maybe he’s just a jerk who did a jerk thing and now he’s feeling bad about it? Or is he. Is he even sorry he cheated? He should be.

She’s way more invested in this fight than she should be, but she can’t tear herself away. She needs to know how this will end. She already has her phone in hand in case she has to dial 911.

‘But I’m _in my 20’s_ ’ Ben continues. ‘And I didn’t wanna lose that too, and _I kinda did_. And you wanted _so much_ , _so fast_ , I didn’t even wanna get married’

This hurts Rey, and she’s not even married to the guy. She can’t even begin to imagine how Nicole’s feeling right now.

‘ _FUCK IT_. There’s so much I didn’t do’

‘Uh, _thanks for that_ ’

‘ _YOU’RE WELCOME_ ’

There’s a slight pause and Rey takes a breath before she hears Nicole scream the house down.

She’s remained somewhat calmer than Ben up until now, but that changes. Fast.

‘I CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE TO KNOW YOU…FOREVERRR’

Rey’s not even sure she’s breathing right now. She’s too scared there’ll hear her and come after _her_ next. Some of the things they’re saying she’s never heard _any human being_ say to another human being.

It’s just… _cruel_.

‘ _Ohhh,_ you’re _FUCKIN INSANE_ ’

She feels the jolt next to her head at that moment and almost has a heart attack on the spot. Whatever just hit the wall made it shake. Ben’s fist? His head? Nicole’s head? _Oh god_.

She has no clue what that even was, but whatever it was it causes her to back away from the wall instantly.

She wonders if it might stop, but it doesn’t, and she can’t move. She’s paralysed, hands over her mouth as she gasps at the wall in horror.

‘AND YOU’RE FUCKING. WINNING!!’

‘ _Are. you. KIDDING. ME??_ I _WANTED to be married_. I _already_ lost! You didn’t love _me_ as much as I loved _you_ ’

‘…What does that _have to do with LA_??’

There’s a pause. A brief moment of calm.

‘ _What??_ ’

‘You’re so… _merged with your own selfishness_ , you don’t even identify it as _selfishness_ _anymore_! You’re _SUCH A DICK!_ ’

‘ _Every day_ I wake up and I hope YOU’RE DEAD’

Ben _NO!! Stop!_

‘DEAD LIKE…IF I COULD GUARANTEE _HENRY WOULD BE OK…I'D HOPE YOU’D GET AN ILLNESS AND THEN GET HIT BY A CAR AND DIE!_ ’

Rey’s sobbing now. Sobbing like a baby. She absolutely cannot believe what she’s just witnessed. And it’s not long before she hears sobbing from next door, too.

It’s Ben. It’s definitely Ben.

Her heart aches for them. _Both of them._ Her hand is on the door handle before she can second guess herself, but she knows she should stay out of it. But something’s pulling her in. Like a force she can’t stop. She needs to make sure everything’s ok.

Even though of course it’s not ok. How could it _possibly be ok_ after that?!

She waits a few minutes to hear if things calm down, and they do. There’s been hushed whispers since Ben started sobbing and she probably should resume baking and forget she ever heard that, but she can’t. She won’t.

She’s not sure she’ll _ever_ forget that.

Deciding for now it’s best to leave it – to let the dust settle – she turns her attention back to the Christmas puddings but she doesn’t get far. Their apartment door closes and she races to the window to watch discreetly, hiding next to the window so Nicole won’t see her.

She’s not sure what she’s expecting to see. Nicole covered in blood? She’s pretty sure Ben didn’t hit her, but how can she be sure. He was so angry. She felt it.

What she sees is nothing like that though. What she sees is Nicole breezing past the window with a smile on her face.

Rey’s eyes go wide.

Did…anything that just happened affect her at all?? Is she _that cold_ that it was nothing more than fun for her?

What in the world is happening here?!

Rey waits another 5 minutes and then she decides she can’t wait any longer. She needs to check on Ben, to make sure he’s ok. She needs to know how he’s doing.

Shucking her dirty apron, she grabs a bottle of wine from the fridge (she thinks her and Ben both might need it), before taking a deep breath to move to his door.

Steeling herself once more, she knocks 3 times.

She has no idea what she’ll find inside - or if he’ll even want to talk to her - but she’s sure of one thing–

Ben could really use a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally intended for this to be a short, fluffy fic...but then I saw Marriage Story.  
> That fight scene totally blew me away. I've watched it too many times now, trying to get this right, but it's just as heartbreaking every. damn. time.
> 
> ~~  
> Comments & kudos always appreciated Xxx


End file.
